Barron’s GE Is Building the Electricity Grid of the Future. Here’s What We Found on a. . .

Barron's GE Is Building the Electricity Grid of the Future. Here’s What We Found on a Tour. #Future #Electricity – https://lnkd.in/gjhaaGci In #GeneralElectric’s sprawling research center here, you will find two #Nobel #Prizes won by GE #scientists, #ThomasEdison’s desk, and current research that could help create the #electricity #grid of the #future. The #research #center in #upstate #NewYork works on everything, from electric flight to the #electric #grid. The grid is where some of the center’s most interesting technology might be impacting businesses soonest. It starts with #transformers. #Electric #power is transmitted at high voltages to maximize efficiency. Voltage coming out of a power plant can be easily north of 100K volts. A transformer–essentially a big box with iron, copper and some oil–steps voltage up or down. That high voltage entering another part of the system, like a substation, might be stepped down by a big transformer to a few thousand volts for transmission to homes. The much smaller transformers humming on telephone poles take that voltage and step it down to levels consumers are familiar with–about 240 volts. #FlexibleTransformer #Adaptive #Systems IN-DEPTH: https://lnkd.in/gXb_mzMM #GE showed Barron’s what it calls a #flexible #transformer It’s a massive piece of electrical equipment–the #FirstOfItsKind–that would be purchased by #utilities. The flexible transformer comes with a “knob” that allows operators to alter the transformer’s #impedance–a technical term partly describing electrical resistance. #Variable #impedance will be helpful as #renewable #power #generation proliferates. The power output from #solar #arrays can very minute by minute. Having a flexible transformer can make managing #power #transmission from an source like that easier. The flexibility also comes in how this new transformer can be deployed. It’s a little like a #universal #spare for utilities. Utilities, of course, have to have back up transformers in case one goes down. Transformers can take a year to build. No one wants a blackout for a year. What’s more, it turns out these massive transformers are all, essentially, bespoke. They are built for a specific location & configuration. The flexible transformer offers a #big #benefit for the utility industry. Instead of having 10 backups for 10 substations using 10 different voltage ratios, now one or perhaps two backup transformers can do the job. There are other benefits and #improvements represented by the flexible transformer. It’s #smarter. It can #react #better to different conditions such as heat, lightning & storms, which helps the grid to be more #robust. When the power goes out these days, it often because a transformer fails. GE says its new generation of transformer will fail less often. Global Risk Management Network, LLC: Future of AI-Computer Science-Data Science-Finance Are All Here: "I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent it." - Thomas Edison